John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to comment on the arrangement that the Minister seems to have come to in respect of the banks, the funds and this House. While it might be welcomed to resolve some issues, the banks, vulture funds and organisations like Capita should appear before the committees of the House. This is not about individual cases, although they are important. It is about the culture within the banks that we need to expose. It is about the culture of greed that led us to the collapse in the first place. That culture continues to destroy families and businesses. The banks have questions to answer in terms of how they are handling funds now and how they are dealing with clients now. They have questions to answer about their attitude and the fact that they are using extreme legal muscle to punish people. Those questions can only be answered with accountability and transparency in public session before the appropriate committees of the House. That is what the Department of Finance needs to emphasise.

It is not business as usual. The banks are accountable and they must appear before the committees of the House. They cannot be compelled, but they can be brought in and made to respect democracy and rights of citizens before Oireachtas committees.

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